drawing shades

i smoke nails in red light
dreaming of another life
where i'm allowed to follow
that path of freckles
trailing along
your golden arm,
while your eyes are closed
in the quiet cave of sleep,
and you dream about me differently.

while we are the sum
of what we've been given,
we're also the sum
of what's been taken,
and of what we'll never receive,
like the chance to
whisper into your throat
ever so softly.

now i'm getting better
at drawing shades
across the window
resting upon my chest,
but every once in awhile
i have to let some light in,
and the sound of your name
has always burned so brightly.

dirty lashes

oh honey honey,
your dirty lashes
and clean lips,
they give me
seizures in the night,
and i am foaming
at the thought
of your body in sunlight,
the trees listening
to our static charges
crackle and pop
in the air between
two parallel frames,
while you ask me questions
that i answer quickly,
so i can ask you more
and listen slowly.

hiding

i am hiding from you
because i cannot hide from myself.
every little winter's night
follows me around town,
chained to my chest by mistake.

your name reminds me
of all the time i gave you,
believing it would never run out.
there's an empty space in my head,
where the good words used to live,
that i cannot escape.

i wish the spirits talked to me
like they used to,
but they've given their chorus
to prettier kids,
they sing into their clean ears,
while i wait in the dusty closet,
hoping for original portents.